44 PLANTS GROWING IN MUD. 



ter has but to relax his hold of the season for a single day, or 

 two, and the first folded buds of the skunk cabbage are among 

 us ; gladdening those that are weary of seeing the earth dried 

 and pale, by announcing the nearness of spring. They are 

 impetuous and sometimes hardly wait long enough to give 

 their cheery message, as it is not unusual to find that they 

 have been caught by Jack Frost. As soon as a thaw then sets 

 in they quickly turn black and decay. 



It is still a mooted question whether or not this plant is self- 

 fertilized. The arums are thought to be cross-fertilized by the 

 wind ; as their pollen is dry and powdery, and their spathes 

 are not so highly coloured as to attract the attention of in- 

 sects. But the spathe of this plant has colour ; and is so 

 enwrapped about the flowers as to protect them from the wind. 

 The pistil also matures long before the stamens. These facts 

 would favour the theory of its being visited by insects. On 

 the other hand, we have to remember that many insects have 

 not the indomitable courage of the skunk cabbage, and do not 

 venture out at so early a season of the year. Carrion-loving 

 flies, it is true, abound the first warm days of spring ; so per- 

 haps they, attracted by its odour, are the plant's secret am- 

 bassadors. 



Children — and at an early age it may be that the nostrils are 

 not fully developed — are particularly fond of searching for this 

 plant and kicking it over, when its odour becomes much more 

 intensified. 



AMERICAN CRINUn. {Plate XIII.) 

 Crinu?n Americamnn. 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Amaryllis. White. Very fragrant. Florida and westward. May-September. 



Flaivers : two to four, growing umbel-like at the top of a thick scape. 

 Perianth : of six-pointed, narrow, recurved divisions with linear bractlets at 

 the base of each. Stamens: six, with long, purple filaments ; anthers attached 

 at the middle; pinkish. Leaves: very long, narrow, pointed. Scape: one to 

 two feet high. Bulb: globular. 



When we sit down beside this giant flower and overlook 

 some river swamp, we think our best thoughts, the earth seems 



